Key piece of your personal health puzzle that even health conscious Parents overlook that can change the way you and Your Family Eat and exercise for life ...
Drum roll ... the key piece is .... your ... Blood type! Seems anti-climatic perhaps for the faster readers out there. Read on and see what you think.
I have to admit that when I first graduated from Naturopathic Medical School and the book Eat Right for Your Blood Type came out I was wary. Having spent 4 years learning to work with nutrition in a very customized way I couldn’t see how our food choices could be narrowed down into 4 Types. I was skeptical.
Fast forward 15 years and I have learned more of the science behind the blood type influence on our health and lifestyle choices and now I do in-office blood typing (a simple finger prick test) for all my clients who don’t know their blood type at no cost because over the years I’ve found it tells me so much about how I can best support them in getting and staying healthy. 9 out of 10 times I can guess it based on their symptoms.
If you’ve checked out the blood type diets you know there are 3 categories of foods: beneficial, neutral and avoid. For each blood type there are 4 foods that are best avoided – these I pay most attention to – the rest of the fine-tuning I do with food sensitivity profile testing and symptomology. I refer to the blood type diet every time we are looking to support healthy change. It consistently gives me excellent info and an edge on what dietary recommendations and general lifestyle support I will share with my client. For example if someone comes with fatigue and other symptoms and signs that point to an adrenal issue, Type Os will test better with an adrenal glandular product as opposed to herbs for type A. Although having their food sensitivities determined through lab blood analysis is a very common well-loved investment for my clients – the combined impact of working with the blood type profiles on their overall sense of well-being, on inflammation and on healthy weight is remarkable.
Kids and Blood type – fascinating to me: Children are generally so tuned into their blood type if we pay attention. My son is Type O and his first full sentence was “I’m a meat lovah (lover)” – now he’s 11 years old and he thrives on meat and veggies. I don’t make him eat oatmeal for breakfast with the rest of us because “it doesn’t feel good” to him and I don’t take this as complaining I take this as “of course, hunter gatherer – grains not so great” – he needs protein and his best self emerges when I feed him with blood type in mind. At school this year during their Mindfulness Class they were working with sound and beats and they had to come up with a beat using words – his was “Bacon. Bacon. Bacon. Bacon. I love bacon.” Type O through and through! (I feel like I have to write a short disclaimer to say that in fact I do not feed him bacon everyday - visits with grandma however are bacon laden but I digress ..)
My experience with families in my clinic is the same story when I look with a parent at a child. One striking observation is the fact that over the years EVERY TIME a parent that comes in saying that they are concerned that their child isn’t getting enough iron/protein because they refuse to eat red meat they are ALWAYS type A (!)– which is the blood type that generally has lower stomach acid and therefore has a harder time with denser proteins like red meat. Red meat is at the top of the avoid list and this blood type generally does well with more vegetarian sources of protein – beans and nuts. Good intuition Type A kiddos!
Knowing your blood type is a key to understanding how your beautiful body works best and helps you live long and healthy – on top of food it educates you on exercises that are better suited for the different types (intense cardio for Type O's, yoga for Type A's)and it has been right on the money for my clients in helping them reach their energy, weight and other health goals ... incorporate its wisdom in your and your family's life and see what you notice …
Be well, Dr. Monika
